Kanye West Replaced Ariana Grande on ‘SNL’ for This Sad Reason

Saturday Night Live made the surprising choice of having Kanye West as their musical guest for this Saturday's (Sept. 29) premiere of the show's 44th season. This last-minute addition took many fans of the show aback, given how Kanye West alienated many of his own fans in the past few months by speaking out in support of Donald Trump and saying that slavery is a choice. But it turns out, the original guest was a far less controversial choice: Ariana Grande.

During the most recent episode of the Origins with James Andrew Miller podcast, the show's creator Lorne Michaels explained that Grande had to drop out this week "for emotional reasons." He then said that West "stepped up," taking her place.

The rapper's appearance on SNL already sparked controversy when he donned a MAGA cap during the episode's preview and recently made even more controversial comments in a visit to the FADER office, saying he would've preferred to have Louis C.K. as a host on SNL.

It's understandable why Grande had to opt out of being on SNL at the moment, given how she's still grieving the death of Mac Miller, but she would've made a much better guest. Grande met her fiancé Pete Davidson while being the guest on SNL, so sharing the stage again would've been a sweet moment. But by having West as the musical guest, viewers are definitely going to tune in to see if the rapper does anything controversial.

Listen to Lorne Michaels' episode of Origins with James Andrew Miller, below: